Introduction and Review

Edit 0 4 …

Welcome to US History I.
The purpose of this page is to go over some important things that you have probably already learned in your school career.

Based on your memory and/or from scanning our textbook, please answer these questions and prepare for class discussion.

Part 1
  • How did the "Spice Trade" ultimately lead to Columbus' arrival in the New World?

  • Name several other European explorers from the 15th or 16th centuries. Then pick one that you thought was particularly interesting or important and explain why in a few sentences.

  • From verbal legend as well as from archaeological evidence, which group of Europeans were actually the first to arrive in North America? Where did they land? Why were they forgotten for so long?

  • Ponder on this statement: "Columbus discovered America"!
This didn't use to be a controversial statement in US history classes so why would it be so controversial now? Should it be? Why or why not?

Part 2

  • How did exploration and settlement in the New World help Spain's "Star to rise and eventually fall"?

  • What was a Spanish galleon and why were they so important to the Spanish empire?

  • Please click on this website, read the article, then look around the site The Atocha Look at the "significant discoveries" page. What does the discovery of this one ship (and all of it's riches) teach us about the importance of the New World to Spain?

  • Which European country began to eclipse Spain? How were this country's "Seadogs" a sign of this?









​​